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Health Ministry to buy Rs. 1 bn data system?

27 Oct 2022

  • Govt. pharmacists raise alarm, seeking probe on certain Ministry officials and trade unions behind alleged move misleading COPE 
BY Buddhika Samaraweera Claiming that certain officials of the Health Ministry are working to purchase a new data system for the supply and distribution of medicines at a cost of Rs. 1 billion instead of providing solutions to the shortage of pharmaceutical drugs and medical supplies in the country, the Society of Government Pharmacists (SGP) requested the Minister of Health, the Secretary to the Health Ministry, and the Auditor General to conduct an investigation into the said move. Speaking to The Morning, SGP President Ajith Thilakarathna said that there is a huge shortage of drugs and medical supplies in hospitals and other health institutions across the country. He claimed that the SGP had pointed out to then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, then-Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and the then-Finance Minister in September of last year that there would be a serious issue with regard to the supply of drugs and medical supplies if letters of credit (LCs) were not issued for the purchase of the same, but that the then-Government had not taken this warning into account. “Due to the non-issuance of LCs for purchasing drugs and other medical supplies, a huge shortage of drugs and medical supplies has arisen at present. Certain parties within the Health Ministry and trade unions (TUs) try to point out different reasons for this situation and attempt various solutions, without addressing the real reason. Regardless of what such parties claim, the reason for this situation is that the Government is not allocating funds to purchase drugs and medical supplies,” he said. Thilakarathna further said that certain officials of the Health Ministry and TUs are attempting to propagate that the purchase of drugs and medical supplies has been hindered due to the data system that is currently in place to manage the purchase and distribution of drugs.  He said that many activities, such as ordering drugs from the Medical Supplies Division (MSD) by hospitals and medical institutions, the distribution of drugs from the MSD to hospitals and then from hospitals to their inpatient and outpatient departments, exchanging drugs and other medical supplies between hospitals, and estimating the required drugs and medical supplies and submitting the relevant information to the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC), are done through the said data system, which is being handled by about 2,500 Government pharmacists islandwide. “Some officials from the Health Ministry informed the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) that this data system does not function properly. They provided misleading information to the COPE.  As pharmacists, we requested the COPE Chairman at that time to give us an opportunity to provide an explanation about this matter, but we were not given a chance. However, we have made the relevant explanations to the Health Ministry. What we say is that the existing data system may have shortcomings, but if there are deficiencies in the system, they should be rectified. If that is not possible, a new system should only be established following a transparent discussion.  “However, what is happening now is that Health Ministry officials are planning to purchase a new system by spreading various disinformation regarding the existing system. Along with changes of ministers, ministry secretaries, additional secretaries, and directors, they are planning to change these systems too, which should not and does not happen anywhere else,” explained Thilakarathna.  He added that Health Ministry officials are attempting to purchase another data system without transparent discussions conducted with the relevant parties, including the SGP.  He claimed that if the Health Ministry is to stop using the existing data system, the country will have to face a serious crisis with regard to drugs and medical supplies in 2023, similar to what took place due to the non-issuance of LCs for the purchase of such. He also claimed that the company from which the new data system is going to be purchased has introduced such a system to the National Hospital in Kandy, and that it has many errors. “We say that the preparations to purchase this new system constitute a scam. At a time when people are suffering without many essential drugs and medical supplies, such as paracetamol, saline, and cotton wool, a sum of Rs. 1 billion is going to be spent to purchase this system. Where is the justice in this? How much of that Rs. 1 billion will go into the pockets of additional secretaries and directors of the Health Ministry? Do people pay taxes to put a portion of it into the pockets of officials?  “Therefore, we will request Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella, Secretary to the Health Ministry Janaka Sri Chandraguptha, and the Auditor General to carry out an investigation into this. An investigation should also be carried out into officials who provided misleading information to the COPE. If a new system needs to be installed, we are ready to sit and discuss it, but we will not have any agreement with the discussions that are held in secret,” he said. Rambukwella, Chandraguptha, and Health Ministry Director – Medical Technology Services Dr. Anver Hamdani were not available for comment. During a COPE meeting on 2 June 2022, where the committee had summoned the SPC, it was revealed that software produced by EW Information Systems Ltd. (EWIS) for the Ministry to digitise medicine supply and distribution had allegedly cost a sum of Rs. 644 million. SPC officials had also claimed that Rs. 5 million had been paid to EWIS every month for the maintenance of the software. However, a day after the revelation, EWIS Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Sanjeewa Wickramanayake, addressing a media briefing, asserted that the software itself had only cost Rs. 83 million, and that the cost of the whole seven-year project to develop the software had been Rs. 223 million. Meanwhile, the College of Medical Laboratory Science claimed at the time that in the context of the global health sector being digitised, the Health Ministry had failed to recruit any officers with expertise in information technology (IT) and that the same has resulted in the failure of many IT-related projects carried out by the Health Ministry at huge costs.  He said that a large sum of money is being wasted due to the appointment of Medical Officers (MOs) as IT officers instead of IT experts, which, he claimed, not only prevents the MOs from carrying out their primary duty of treating patients, but also causes huge financial losses when the IT projects eventually fail.


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